Ex-Texans' coach opted for a shorter contract

It gives them more stability from coaching changes and guarantees them more money.

When former Texans coach Gary Kubiak agreed to extend his contract last year, however, he opted for a three-year deal, instead of a four-year commitment.

“Gary (Kubiak) is extended, it’s really a new contract, but it’s three years and that was his choice,” Texans chairman and CEO Bob McNair said in June of 2012. “It could have been four years but Gary has assured me that with the level of success he’s going to have that he’s going to be worth a lot more money if at three years instead of four and so I had to agree with him.”

Kubiak’s deal ran through 2014, but it could’ve run at least one more year. With the news that Houston fired Kubiak Friday, there’s an obvious question: What would’ve happened had Kubiak agreed to a longer extension?

The immediate answer is that he would have been owed more money.

When coaching changes occur there are buyouts and severance packages that are negotiated into the contracts. The biggest thing to note, however, is that when a coach is fired with more years left on his contract, he is owed more money than he would be if the term of the deal were shorter.

Therefore, by agreeing in 2012 to a three-year deal instead of a four-year contract, Kubiak negotiated himself out of more severance money.

When asked in 2012 why he took a shorter deal, Kubiak said that’s what he felt comfortable with.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve always done my own stuff from a contract standpoint, so that’s just something I felt comfortable with, and when Bob (McNair) and I sat down, it didn’t take any time at all. I enjoy working for him; he’s a great man, he’s got a great family and he wants to win and win the right way, so it’s easy for me.”

By contrast, the Texans extended GM Rick Smith’s contract in June 2012, but his term was for four years.

Kubiak may have been more comfortable with a shorter deal, but with the NFL’s constant evaluation process, this clearly left money on the table.